Smelly air con! help!

[jaybest25]

Evening all,

The previous owner of my 318ti had 2 awful mutts that have pissed all over the seats and made the car honk!

When i turn the AC on, for around 30 seconds it smells like wet dog, and is almost unbearable.

Is there a way to fix this other than stick my head out the window for the 30 seconds?!!

Thanks!

[KSKarl]

The usual suspect for that AC smell is plugged drain. So the water that the AC takes out of the air settlrs into a stagnant pond. First clear the drain and flush out the AC box. Finish with a bleach solution to kill the mold that had been living there.

[campione]

The previous owner of my car used some perfumy deoderizer in the a/c system and it made me sick when I drove it. I changed the micron filter (# 64319071933), sprayed the vent system with Wurth A/C and shampoo ed the interior carpets. I threw out the old mats too. It has helped a lot. Next is to try a 50/50 mix of peroxide and water and lightly spray the vents again.

[KSKarl]

Bleach will be just as effective as peroxide and likely a lot cheaper. Make sure the drain is clear. You should be able to see it when you remove the microfilter. Then clean out the air box around the drain. That's where the water pools when the drain gets plugged.

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Please be careful using oxidizers on aluminum parts like bleach it will eat stuff up if not cleaned off. Use the correct stuff or make sure you clean it off real good or you will have a evaporator that is all ate up...

[KSKarl]

Good catch, John Boy. I only had the plastic air box in mind. I'd expect that fungicide would not be good for the car either. What ever you use, respect it as potent stuff. Follow instructions, give it the time needed to do its thing, then flush it all out.
And after all that, you'lldefinitely know the drain s clear. :-)

[spine911]

Any detailed DIY pics....links???

this would be a very usefull DIY fix for the foul AC smell.....